Croatia has approximately 1.5 million hectares (ha) of used agricultural land and 2.8 million ha of forests. Croatia has favorable conditions for diverse farming, but is self-sufficient only in the production of wheat, corn, oats, barley, major oil seeds, mandarins, cherries, and sour cherries.

Imports of agricultural and food products continue to grow, but the rise in inflation caused by COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are expected to slow down imports and shift consumer demand towards more affordable products. Furthermore, food trade patterns are expected to move towards suppliers not affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Croatian market for imported food products (consumer-oriented agricultural products) is valued over $3 billion and is dominated by European suppliers. Unrecorded transshipments from other EU suppliers likely make U.S. imports higher than the amounts recorded in the official statistics. Flourishing tourism along the Dalmatian coast and rebounding consumer demand in urban areas over the last few years has fueled demand for consumer foods, as evidenced by the growth in the number of supermarkets. Price and credit availability are the major determinants for product sourcing.

U.S. products with good prospects include seafood, animal feed and feed ingredients, animal genetics, wine, pork, fruits and vegetables, pet food, and a range of snack and convenience foods. Croatian consumers are highly skeptical towards GM food products.

For additional details, you may visit the Global Agricultural Information Network.

Resources

Foreign Agricultural Service Zagreb Foreign Agricultural Service Trade data MonitorCroatian Bureau of StatisticsMinistry of Agriculture (Croatia)

U.S. Embassy – Foreign Agricultural Service 

Andreja Misir, Agricultural Specialist 

Zagreb, Croatia 

Tel:  +385 (0)1 661 2467 

Email: AgZagreb@state.gov